There is massive confounding here. Think of the counterfactual — kids who live in a house with a failing relationship, or one where the adults can’t meet each other’s needs.
It’s not at all obvious this would be better, and none of the research suggests it’s better for kids for adults to stay in a troubled relationship. In fact the reverse - conflict in the home is a much stronger predictor of poor outcomes than divorce per se.
Interesting, that's a great point. Last I checked the negative effects of fatherlessness were well studied, but I don't know if it's been compared with the alternative, i.e. being raised by someone who rather would have left!
IIRC a low quality father is still better than none (barring abuse, though emotional neglect is now finally coming to be recognized as developmentally impactful), but I really don't know...
It's debatable to what degree they are as most of the studies have massive confounders. Couples that stay together tend to be more affluent than divorced couples because of only needing to pay for and maintain one place of living instead of two. And poverty is a massive confounder in the studies, kids in poverty do a fair bit worse than kids in middle class lifestyles.
It’s not at all obvious this would be better, and none of the research suggests it’s better for kids for adults to stay in a troubled relationship. In fact the reverse - conflict in the home is a much stronger predictor of poor outcomes than divorce per se.